The link below will lead to the FERC filing. These three "tree hugger" groups exist to file challenges to everything. Alabama Rivers, American Rivers, and World Wildlife Fund routinely file these documents at just about every opportunity they have. Since they all have full time lawyers on staff, my guess is that it's more job justification than concern for the fishes. The filing is over 80 pages of fill in the blank form letter type legalese. Representatives of the organizations were at all of the Relicensing Meetings and were vocal about issues relating to fishes and critters in the river, primarily below the dam. I have read most of the document and I have not seen any negative comments about the winter water level, nor the extended summer pool. Hopefully, FERC will politely push this aside in a timely manner, but I suspect the implementation of new winter levels will not happen on January 20. In talking with the representatives over the five years of meetings and watching their previous filings that requested more and more fish studies downstream (not in the lake), we are not surprised at their action.

Osms, you sound well connected and informed. How certain are you that due to this filing the new rule implementation will be delayed? The most recent notice from APC is the lake will go to 482 by Jan 20 and then the new rule of 483 will take effect. Thanks

My post is pretty much my opinion based on what I've seen, read, and experienced the past 7 years of attending the relicensing meetings. At this point, the ball is in FERC's court. The three environmental groups have made their plea within the 30 day period allowed by FERC, so now FERC must rule to either throw out the plea or accept it. APCo will proceed with implementation until it is given orders otherwise by FERC, which could be given as early as Monday, or never. Who knows!

From a laymans point of view and a cursory look at the eighty something pages of the petition, this petition seems to fall in line with the tangled mess we find when the bottom line appears to save every species that has existed from the beginning of time. The petition refers to the species or their critical habitat, which may be affected and includes the threatened Alabama moccaasinshell, the endangered Orange-nacre Mucket, the Finelined pocketbook, the Southern clubshell, the threatened Gulf sturgeon, and the endangered Alabama sturgeon. I agree with Osms, it seems like the work of a lot of lawyers trying to justify their existence.

It's also important to note that all their complaints are based on "in stream" critters, not fish in the lake. I asked these folks more than once why they don't try to help promote the fishes in the lake as well. The only answer I got was that they don't think there should be man made lakes. Bass, bream, catfish, and humans don't count!

I noticed that in their morning email. On 1/15, APCo announced the lake would get to 483' by 1/20 then start following the new license. Of course, that announcement was probably made before the fish kissers FERC filing.

It's so - latest notice from APC said the rule was implemented yesterday, Jan 20. I was at the lake yesterday with my wadders on. The Christmas flood messed up a lot of people who figured we'd have at least a few weeks once the new rule was approved - and we would have had 30 days but for the flood.